Building Better Opportunities in the Black Country Partnership Working

Background to BBO in the Black Country £23.7 million Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership identified 4 local priority ‘themes’ Employment Support over 24s Targeted Communities Families in Poverty Digital & Financial Inclusion

Cross Strand Collaborative Working Stage One Dec 2014 - Collaborative approach to bidding for BBO Black Country opportunity discussed by 4 organisations Steps to Work Heart of England Community Foundation Black Country Together CIC Walsall Housing Group/ Accord Mid 2015 – Joint events held to present offer and create interest in BBO Black Country Developed shared Expression of Interest forms for potential partners to use Advertised all strand opportunities together

Black Country Together Bridges £10.7m Family Matters Community Matters Steps to Work Family Matters £3.4m Black Country Together Community Matters 5.04m Heart of England Community Foundation Click Start £3.9m Walsall Housing Group & Accord Family Matters £3.4m Black Country Together

Programme Development Stage Two 4 strands with different themes, working together as one cohesive programme - Shared vision for BBO Black Country Standardising sections of project plan Meetings to pool knowledge and resources Sharing strategic links Sharing information e.g. potential risk Pooling development grant Procuring shared MI system Crib sheet

Project Delivery Stage Three Joint Induction Sessions for Delivery Partners Lead Operational Meetings Collaboration Agreement Data Sharing Agreement Evaluation Developing shared MIS reports Cross-strand referrals Sharing information from BLF Identifying common issues Sharing best practice

Organisational cultures Priorities Timelines Broadened reach Lessons Learned Difficulties of standardisation across projects managed by different organisations Organisational cultures Priorities Timelines Broadened reach Stronger position to tender for these opportunities

Partnership Management Programme Management Teams Workshops with partners to co-design project plans/tools Staggered delivery start dates Partnership Meetings to communicate key messages Programme Guide MIS User Guide Communications Guide Mandatory Workshops

Project Delivery Management Challenges Not anticipating the intensive support required by partners Partners greatly underestimated resources required to run ESF project compliantly Differences in organisational cultures Varying levels of knowledge & learning styles Issues with basic project requirements e.g. eligibility evidence requirements Not following Programme Guides

Project Delivery Management Challenges Lack of communication within partner organisations High volume of staff changes & recruitment which lead organisations had not been made aware of High volume of errors in claims Workload created by managing numerous partners Partners on more than one strand not grasping each has different requirements Constant changes in guidance

Tackling Challenges Support visits 100% audits – remote & onsite Ensuring maximum availability via email, telephone & face-to- face Delivery: Ongoing 1:1 support – eligibility, paperwork, MIS data entry Finance: Ongoing 1:1 support & meetings to develop partner internal claims processes Physically supporting with corrective actions Re-profiling of targets

Tackling Challenges Putting hold on partners engaging with new participants until quality improved Re-visit & reassess processes & procedures Regularly gathering partner feedback Encouraging partners to attend any ESF/ERDF training available in their area Produce regular newsletters/bulletins to update partnership on key changes Increasing Programme Management Team capacity

Lessons Learned The ‘proof of the pudding is in the eating’ – just because a partner can compose a good application and pass a due diligence visit does not mean that they can deliver on this project Don’t make assumptions about partners & level of knowledge Don’t assume the bigger & more established partners need the least support The level of resources required is not directly related to the amount of grant funding awarded Smaller partnerships would have been more manageable

Lessons Learned Ensuring the right people attend the right meetings, sessions & workshops Organisations can become dependant on the lead organisation You will lose partners - procuring new partners comes with a whole new set of challenges ‘Eat sleep claim repeat’- sometimes it feels like Groundhog Day Frequent BBO Guidance changes have a huge impact in project management and all aspects of delivery Don’t underestimate how far participants are from the labour market

The Benefits of Partnership Working We are able to offer a holistic programme to participants targeting diverse needs We have numerous partners across the BC offering their own specialisms Strong working relationships have flourished across a diverse range of voluntary organisations, many of whom had not worked together before The 4 Lead Organisations have saved £0000’s in jointly procuring MIS system and jointly seeking legal advice as well as having a joint EOI for partners The project really does work and makes a huge difference !

Questions? Stephanie Hammond Emma Wright Steps to Work WHG Bridges Click Start stephanie.hammond@stepstowork.co.uk Emma.Wright@whgrp.co.uk Tracey Quirk Neelam Sunder Black Country Together CIC Heart of England Community Foundation Family Matters Community Matters tracey@blackcountrytogether.info neelam@heartofenglandcf.co.uk